{"nrhp_refnum":"90000079","name":"Colony Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Gardner's Neck and Mattapoisett Rds. at Mt. Hope Bay","address_restricted":false,"city":"Swansea","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.70940200000004,"lon":-71.20611467524436,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small waterfront district of seven cottages on about 4.31 acres at the southeastern tip of Gardner's Neck in South Swansea, Massachusetts, laid out in an 1896 subdivision and built between 1896 and about 1950.","why_significant":"The district is tied to the turn-of-the-20th-century summer resort and later suburban growth of Swansea, when Fall River businessmen sought escape from the city. It is also a well-preserved, intact grouping of Shingle and Colonial Revival cottages, mostly with gambrel roofs, that the form calls unique in Swansea.","narrative":"Seven cottages at the tip of Gardner's Neck in South Swansea make up this small seaside community, set between Mt. Hope Bay and Lee's River. It began in 1896, when David Anthony sold four acres to Robert Wilcox and Eric Borden, who divided the land into lots along a private road, Mattapoisett Avenue. Lot owners shared rights to the road, the beach, a boat landing and well water. Buyers were mostly Fall River businessmen seeking summer homes away from the industrial city. Five of the houses, built between 1896 and about 1930, contribute to the district. Broad gambrel roofs and wood shingle siding give the group its character, with Shingle Style cottages from 1896 and 1898 and later Colonial Revival and Dutch Colonial houses. Hurricanes in 1938 and 1954 led to heavy rebuilding on the waterfront lots. The district was recognized for its link to resort and suburban development and as an intact, distinctive group of shore cottages.","period_of_significance":"1896-ca. 1930","architect_builder":"Edward Marvel (architect of 15 Mattapoisett Avenue; possibly 28 Mattapoisett Avenue); A.T. Marvel (designer-builder of his own cottage); J.M. Darling of Fall River (builder of 28 Mattapoisett Avenue)","architectural_style":"Shingle Style and Colonial Revival (including Dutch Colonial Revival)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential and general condition is good. Two parcels and the eastern waterfront edge remain vacant; two of the seven cottages are noncontributing, and two of the early cottages are still summer residences.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.987085-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/7896/63789663/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000079.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000079/c292bc710b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000079/c292bc710b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SwanseaMA_ColonyHD_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SwanseaMA_ColonyHD_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789663","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5148499"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/colony-historic-district-90000079/"}